


Friends Don't Leave

by Captain_Erika



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Death, Gen, Injury, Magic, Violence, shhh the last tag is spoilers but if you really want to know then you can have a peek, this is basically me looking at minecraft mechanics and going oooh how might that work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:02:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28732395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Erika/pseuds/Captain_Erika
Summary: It’s always fun exploring a new world, isn’t it?Especially when your friends are with you.Don’t mind the dangers.You’ll all be fine if you stick together.Right?Don’t worry.No one’s going to leave.
Kudos: 14





	Friends Don't Leave

The smell of a new world was never quite as satisfying as the smell of a new book, but it always teemed with infinite possibilities.

This world smelled like a great big fantasy novel, freshly printed and just waiting for its first reader to come along and lose themselves in its world, for as long as it could hold them. It was an open invitation to personal recreation, the kind of book you found parts of yourself hidden under the cover and in the space beneath the chapter titles and written invisibly between the lines—not parts that you didn’t realise were missing, but parts that you desperately wished were yours. It held meaning that wasn’t so much a thoughtful commentary as it was a message that resonates with you to your core. The kind of message you would reverently scoop up from between the pages and gently brush the dust off before holding it close to your heart as it intertwined itself into your personal identity.

It smelled like that kind of world.

Stress opened her eyes, eager to see what awaited them in this new season.

The first thing she saw was Scar’s face, _really_ close up.

She squeaked in surprise and stumbled backwards, knocking into someone and sending them both tumbling down a little embankment she hadn’t know was there. She ended up with a face full of sand, but the sound of a splash and a cry from behind her made her think she had probably gotten off lucky.

“Stress! What was that for?”

She quickly brushed the sand from around her eyes. They were in a tiny cove, bathed in early-morning sunlight. They had only fallen a couple of blocks. _Spawn must be another island then, just like season six_ , she realised. There was a figure pulling themselves out of the water, their red coat drenched and sandy blond hair plastered to their face.

“Sorry Grian, Scar spooked me!”

“Well, this is a great way to start off a new season. Barely spawned in and I’m already soaked.” Grian pretended to grumble, but he couldn’t keep up the act for very long. “It’s good to see you, Stress.”

“Good to know you’re still ‘ere too, love.”

Scar’s head poked over the tiny cliff face, “Sorry Stress! I didn’t mean to scare you!”

She giggled, “It’s fine, love. Give us a hand up though, would you?”

“Certainly!” A hint of teasing replaced the genuine concern in his voice as he looked down the short drop. “Friends don’t leave friends stranded at the bottom of such an impassable cliff!”

He mined a single block.

Stress climbed up the rudimentary staircase, with Grian right behind her.

“How was it all the way down there?” Scar asked with a grin, “Nice and sandy?”

Stress rolled her eyes. “Just a bit, thanks.”

“And Grian, you’re a bit wet— Oh, or are you still _down_ there?”

Not understanding whatever Scar was poking fun at, she turned to Grian, who… Oh, who was a foot shorter than he’d been last season. And his hair seemed curlier too, even if half of it was stretched straight with seawater. Now that she looked closer, she could see hair sticking out of the ends of his sleeves. And he didn’t have any shoes on. And his feet were hairy too.

“Why are you two so tall? I know I’m not tall, but I swear I’m not this short...” Grian trailed off as he seemed to clock his hairy hands, “Uh, guys, what’s this?”

“Oh Grian, it looks like you’re destined to be a hobbit this season.” Scar had a very amused expression, “You’re adorable!”

“And, um, _why_ am I a hobbit?”

Stress and Scar exchanged a look.

“Don’t you remember, Grian? New worlds give us new identities to play around with.”

Grian still looked confused, “That didn’t happen when I joined.”

Ah, of course. This was Grian’s first time travelling to a new world with the rest of the hermits, no wonder he was confused.

“Don’t worry then, love. It’s just a bit’a fun for us. Spice up a new world. You don’t have to keep it.” And Stress knew that was exactly the right thing to say, because Grian’s jaw squared up at the implied challenge.

“No, I’m keeping it. I’ll be the best hobbit. The sneakiest, most mischievous hobbit on the server!”

“The peskiest hobbit on the server,” Scar half-muttered to her, a good-natured smile on his lips.

Grian _hmph_ ed indignantly, “At least I don’t look like a—a…” His pretend sour attitude slipped, “Scar, what on earth are you _wearing_?”

Stress took a proper look at Scar. Oh, he had a _beard_. A very messy grey beard. That was definitely new. As were the long purple robes with golden tassels and his matching purple hat. He would have looked quite refined and respectable, if it weren’t for a few things.

Namely, his glaring lack of trousers and his heart-printed underwear.

Oh, and the pink bunny slippers.

Scar looked down at himself, his mouth open in mock offence, “I’ll have you know this is the finest ensemble a wizard could ask for. It’s the very latest in wizard style. And!” He reached into one of the robe’s pockets, pulling out something large enough that it definitely should have been visible through the fabric. “I have magical crystals!”

“Scar…” Grian stared at him for a long moment. “That’s glass.”

“Oh no no no, my friend, this is a very magical crystal, imbued with unique wizardly power!” He held it out to Grian, “This is a lucky crystal, so don’t break it!”

Grian tossed it from hand to hand. “I don’t need your fake glass, Scar.” he said, but tucked it into his jacket pocket anyway. Then he turned to Stress. “So what’s your deal this season?”

Stress paused to consider the question. The new knowledge swirling around in her head was… Plants? Was it just plants? No, there were sparks of magic dancing around as well. Spells whispered themselves into her ears, giving themselves over to her. One pushed its way to the front of her mind, speaking its own words loudly and clearly over the dozen others fighting to be heard. It told her to hold out her hand.

She did, and then she repeated its words, freeing the spell to work its magic in the air.

The space above her hand… _shimmered_ , the air seemingly folding itself away to reveal a circlet of bright leaves studded with pink, star-shaped flowers.

A flower crown.

“Think I’m a druid today, love.”

Grain whistled softly. “Now _that_ is what magic looks like, Scar.”

Scar pointedly ignored him, but seemed equally impressed. “What are those flowers, Stress? I’ve never seen them before.”

Stress took a closer look at the flowers. They weren’t tiny, just small enough not to be garish and the pink matched her cardigan. They were unfamiliar to her as well, but something whispered a name in her head.

“They’re called… Cypress flowers, I think.”

She carefully placed the crown on her head, not wanting to damage it. Vines twisted themselves into her hair as soon as she took her hands away, securing it in place. One vine wavered in the air though, gently poking her shoulder. They all looked at it, unsure of what it wanted. Once it was sure it had her attention, it snaked down along Stress’s arm, poking at a satchel strung across her waist that she had somehow overlooked.

“Oh, thank you little vine!” She looked at the others, “Guess I’ve got a friend with me this season.”

She opened the bag, not entirely surprised to see that the inside seemed to hold far more space than the outside would suggest, complete with familiar slots. _This must be how I’ll be accessing my inventory in this world, then_ , she thought with a smile. A quick rummage around revealed a book sitting patiently in the corner of the bag. She pulled it out.

It was a hardback, its deep brown cover worn with age. The title was written in familiar runes, the same shapes she saw every time she used an enchanting table.

Not that knowing that was terribly helpful, because she still couldn’t read them.

“ _Magicis Carminibus Pro Druidae_ ,” Scar murmured thoughtfully, “It’s a spell book.”

Grian looked at him quizzically, “You can read that?”

“Guess it comes with being a wizard,” Scar shrugged, “I get to read runes.”

Stress flicked through the pages. Most of the pages were also in runes, so she didn’t know how helpful this book was going to be. The few that weren’t seemed to be low-level spells, ways to conjure light or smelt materials faster or minor healings. All useful in their own right, but the runic pages certainly had more interesting illustrations.

Someone clapped, drawing Stress’s attention from the book to the centre of the small island. It looked like the rest of the hermits had spawned in by now.

It was Xisuma who wanted everybody’s attention, waiting patiently for all eyes to be on him. His armour was different this time around, bright yellow with dark stripes. Delicate white wings sat on his back and a pair of antennae poked out the top of his helmet, twitching slightly. Stress wondered if he could control them, or if they were just decoration.

He cleared his throat, turning the last few heads. “Hello again everybody, glad to see you all made it through the world hop. And with a few old faces returning, no less!” He smiled at someone hidden from her view by the crowd, “Well, you all know why we’re here. Let’s go explore!”

With that, the chatter returned and the group dispersed.

Stress turned to Scar and Grian with a smile.

“Shall we go then?”


End file.
